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The Microsoft-Linux Detente Grows

As with Microsoft's Xandros and Novell agreements, the deal will offer protection to Linspire Linux users against possible infringement of Microsoft patents. (DesktopLinux.com)

Linspire has announced an agreement to license voice-enabled instant messaging, Windows Media 10 codecs, and TrueType font technologies from Microsoft for its Linux distribution. Additionally, Microsoft will offer protection to Linspire customers against possible violations of Microsoft patents by Linux.

Linspire has long made an effort to bundle proprietary codecs, drivers and software with its Linspire and Freespire Linux distributions as a way to offer users a Linux OS that works with a wide range of popular multimedia formats and browser plug-ins, and can play DVDs out of the box.

Another area of cooperation will be on technology for interoperability between documents stored in OpenXML and the Open Document Format, as in the Xandros-Microsoft agreement announced on June 5.

Additionally, in a blow to search engine leader Google, Linspire will make Microsofts Live.com search engine the default Linspire 5.0 Web search engine, "allowing Microsoft to bring Live Search to a broader set of users and providing leading search capabilities to Linspire customers," Linspire officials said in a statement.

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